Turn of the Season
by blainedarling
Summary: It's Jeff and Nick's junior year at Dalton Academy for boys and they're about to learn that there's a whole lot more to high school than homework and glee club.
1. September

{Authors Note: In my Dalton world, the Dalton schooling system is different because it's private education: basically, there are only two years. Assume that juniors are 16/17; seniors 17/18.

I appreciate that I'm mixing up a lot of bits of plot, characters and relationships from various seasons (aside from my own bits), hope it doesn't get too confusing!

Jon is Jon Hall's Warbler, since he doesn't have an "official" name.}

* * *

"What was your room number again, honey?" Jeff's mom asked as she peered down the wood paneled hallway of the junior's dormitories.

Jeff dove into his overflowing bag, sorting through papers until he found the one he needed. He showed the paper to his mother triumphantly, pushing his glasses up his nose as they continued through the corridor.

"Dude, you _gotta_ start wearing those contacts already!" his younger brother, Jason, snickered at him, in the stupid drawl he'd adopted over the summer. Jeff was sure he'd done it purposefully to drive him insane. The next pop of his bubblegum was cut off as Jeff shoved him forcefully against the wall.

* * *

Dalton Academy in Westerville, Ohio was the all boys, all blazers high school that Jeff's parents had decided would be the "stimulating environment" that he needed. Or, at least, that's what they said to his face. As if he hadn't heard the whispered discussions that they'd had behind closed doors as middle school had come to an end.

"I've seen those documentaries on teen gay suicides, James; I'm not going to let our little boy become another statistic!"

His best friend from middle school, Sam, had been similarly unhelpful:

"Bro, you're going to an all boys school; isn't that like a wet dream for you or something?" he said, in all seriousness, while simultaneously shoving forkfuls of pasta into his mouth at an impressive pace. Sam's entire family had relocated to Cleveland in the summer, so, either way, Jeff would have been left without his favourite floppy haired friend.

First views of the place were impressing even Jeff though. He'd also heard they had a competition winning Glee club. He'd always loved to sing but his old school's idea of the arts was a mediocre drama club that had consisted of a total of six members - Jeff and five girls.

* * *

Jeff opened the door to his room hesitantly, unsure as to whether his roommate would be there yet. First glance told him the room was empty; he failed to notice the bags neatly arranged in the corner of the room.

"Well," his mother began, looking around the room with a satisfactory nod, "perhaps we should wait to meet this roommate of yours...what was his name?"

"Nick," came a voice from behind them, causing the family to jump and turn around, startled, to face a small, dark-haired boy.

"Sorry," he said, blushing slightly, an apologetic grin on his face. "My mom says I should stop doing that," he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else.

Jason tugged on Jeff's sleeve, a wicked grin on his face.

"He's pretty hot, right?" he whispered to Jeff, who responded my throwing him unceremoniously out of the room.

"I'm Jeff," he said, holding out a hand to the other boy, "This is my mom and that was my brother, Jason."

Nick chuckled, "I've got three, I know the feeling."

Jeff's mom watched as the two boys started swapping horror stories of their siblings, all the while unpacking and moving as fluidly around one another as if they'd known each other their entire lives.

She smiled to herself, calling out to Jeff that she'd see him for Sunday lunch, to which he replied only with a quick wave and a smile, before returning to his conversation.

She closed the door softly to face her other son.

"Fifty bucks say they're a couple by the end of the year," was all Jason said, before he was dragged down the corridor, away from room thirty-six.

* * *

"So, what was it Jason said this time?" Nick asked, as he continued pulling clean shirts out of his bag.

"You do not want to know," Jeff replied with a sigh. "You know, the other day, he said, totally seriously, 'does this mean I can go to an all girls school?'" Jeff laughed, shaking his head.

Nick turned to his new roommate, his confusion etched across his face. "Because he's secretly a girl, or...?" Nick trailed off, praying that he hadn't offended his new friend. _Great start, Nick._

"No," Jeff laughed, "Not as far as I know, he meant because I'm gay," Jeff finished simply. He couldn't help but smile at how easily he could say the words that used to hold him hostage from being himself.

"Oh, right, cool! I mean, not that it- I mean, whatever, as long as- I mean..." Nick coughed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

_Well, he's straight, _Jeff thought to himself, with a slight tang of disappointment.

"Are you going to try out for the Warblers?" Jeff asked swiftly, pulling Nick out of his thoughts.

"The...what?" Nick replied, looking at Jeff apprehensively.

_Oh crap, he's going to think I'm a total dork._ Jeff cringed.

"The Glee club," he stammered, colouring slightly.

"Oh, um..." Nick considered his options: sure, he loved singing but in front of actual people?

"Well, I'm going to go put my name down, right now actually, before I forget or something, um, yeah," Jeff garbled, racing to the door.

"Hey, Jeff, wait!" Jeff paused in the doorway, "Put my name down too, will you?"

Jeff beamed and nodded before bounding out of the room.

Nick sank down on the bed with a sigh. _That moment, the one where Jeff said he was gay? That was your cue! _his brain shrieked angrily. He had unwittingly just gone back into the closet, simply by saying nothing but a load of word vomit. Nick dropped his head into his lap with a groan.

* * *

_His back arched, eyelids fluttering closed as he felt the other boy's tongue skate down his torso, hands ghosting across his thighs. He whimpered slightly, looking down and groaning at the sight of the blond mop of hair between his legs. He could feel the heat of his mouth come into contact with skin..._

Nick sat up, drenched in sweat, his breath stuttering as he looked around the dark, still unfamiliar room. He looked across at Jeff, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw that the boy was completely dead to the world. _That's got to break some sort of roommate code, _Nick thought, shifting uncomfortably from the aching feeling between his legs.

* * *

Jeff slammed the alarm clock next to his bed violently. "I get it, I get it, I'm awake," he growled, to no-one in particular. He opened his eyes fully, taking in the sunlit room. Nick appeared out of the bathroom, already dressed and beginning to put together his books for the day.

"Morning!" Jeff said cheerfully to his roommate, receiving nothing but a quiet response. "You okay, dude?" Jeff asked as he pulled himself out of bed, wondering what had happened to the guy that he'd met last night.

"Yeah, totally, great," Nick rattled off unconvincingly, heading towards the door, "I'm just going to go actually but I think we have French together later so I guess I'll just see you then, okay bye!" Nick opened the door, his eyes flashing up to meet Jeff's briefly before he was gone.

"But I thought we were going to go to breakfast together," Jeff said feebly, to the now empty room.

* * *

Jeff scrambled through the corridors, in an attempt to make it to English on time. He scampered around the corner, running straight into a small, dark-haired guy, sending the other boy's books flying across the corridor.

"I'm so sorry, I thought I was going to be late and..." Jeff sighed and knelt down to pick up some of the books, handing them to the other boy.

"It's fine," replied a beautiful voice, "Mr Brooks' class?"

Jeff nodded, gazing at the attractive boy that this voice belonged to; a voice that sounded as if it had been dripped in honey. His dark curls waved across his head, his warm, brown eyes smiling at Jeff, his full lips quirked at the corners.

"Don't worry, he's the one that's always late," the boy continued, with a light laugh that made Jeff's head whirl.

_Get a grip, _he told himself firmly, _there's no need to swoon over every guy you fall into in the corridors._

"Are you a junior?" Jeff asked, confused.

"No," the boy said with another light chuckle, cocking his head to look at Jeff with his adorable smile, "I'm a senior but juniors and seniors take English together."

Jeff nodded in understanding, scooting back against the wall as their teacher came bumbling down the hall towards them.

"Now now, no laughing boys, I had a reason this time..." he said, unlocking the door and ushering them in.

"He always says that," the boy whispered to Jeff as they began filing in. "Sit with me?"

Jeff nodded again, too giddy to speak, and let himself be led to a seat next to the window.

"I'm so rude!" the boy exclaimed suddenly. "My name's Blaine."

_Blaine_, Jeff thought to himself, turning the name over his tongue.

"Jeff," he replied with a smile, pulling his books out of his bag.

Jeff looked across and saw that Blaine's desk remained empty.

"Do you need to share?" Jeff asked helpfully.

Blaine laughed, resting his chin in his hand to look at Jeff.

"There's no point in me taking out my books yet," he said simply, "Mr Brooks won't be ready to start teaching for another fifteen minutes, give or take."

He stretched his arms out behind his head and nodded to the front of the classroom, where their teacher was busy losing himself in stacks of pieces of paper. Jeff was starting to think that he was _really_ going to like this school.

"Would you be the same Jeff whose name is down on the audition list for the Warblers?" Blaine asked suddenly.

Jeff nodded enthusiastically. _Please let Blaine be in the Warblers, please._

"Okay, I'll give you some insider knowledge," Blaine said seriously, turning in his chair to fix Jeff with his gaze.

* * *

Nick got to French first, choosing a seat near the back (languages were not exactly his strong point) and dithering over whether to save one for Jeff too. He didn't get to make the choice in the end, as Jeff wandered in shortly after and sat down next to him. He had a small smile on his face as if he were a million miles away in some daydream.

"Earth to Jeff?" Nick asked cautiously, poking his arm gently.

"Sorry," Jeff giggled, he actually _giggled_, "Hey, you feeling better?"

Nick blushed furiously, "Uh yeah, just first day nerves and all that."

Jeff gave him a sympathetic look and began pulling out his books with a wistful sigh.

Nick stared at Jeff, trying to figure out who had slipped what into his juice this morning. _Oh, hang on, I know that look._

"So, who's the guy?" Nick asked smoothly, raising an eyebrow at Jeff, who flushed in reply.

"That obvious?" he asked to which Nick just nodded. "You'll meet him later!" Jeff whispered as their teacher walked in and began the lesson.

Nick couldn't say that he spent much of that class paying attention. Instead, he sat contemplating what Jeff's type was. _Blond? Brunette? Tall? Short? Who was this guy? An athlete? _

Jeff snapped him out of his thoughts at the end of the class.

"Come on, dude, we gotta get to the Warblers auditions!" he said, the same giggle returning.

_Oh, _Nick sank as the realisation hit him, _he's a _Warbler.

* * *

Nick took in the sight of the dark-haired boy in front of him. _Blaine._ He turned the name over his tongue bitterly. He'd thought he was short; this kid was a freaking hobbit.

"So, what are you singing for your audition?" he asked politely, since Jeff seemed too busy ogling the guy to make conversation.

Blaine laughed (Nick could practically see Jeff swooning, christ), "Oh, no, I'm a senior."

Nick looked the boy up and down again with slight disgust.

"Right," he muttered.

"Okay, okay, pipe down," came a voice from the table at the end of the room, "returning Warblers, please sit on the right. Those auditioning, on the left please."

As the previous Warblers introduced themselves, Jeff thought back to what Blaine had told him earlier, matching faces to names. The council was made up of Wes ("if he bangs the gavel, he means business"), Thad ("looks innocent, but don't be fooled") and David ("if you ever have a problem with anything or anyone, he's your man"). The returning Warblers also quickly gave their names in a flurry; Nick and Jeff glanced at each other, noting that, no, neither of them were going to remember all that.

There was just one other junior auditioning with the boys that day (although auditions lasted all week); who gave a noncommittal shrug when asked to go first. No-one in the room could say exactly what they'd been expecting from the tall, broad boy who introduced himself, with a grunt, as Jon. But probably not the dynamic rendition of Poison, complete with beat-boxing and slightly bizarre dance moves.

The room erupted into slightly stunned applause as Jon finished; none so enthusiastically as Wes. He conferred briefly with Thad and David before standing up with a flourish, a grin etched across his tanned face.

"Never in the history of the Warblers have we had a beat-boxer in our midst. This could mean great things gentlemen!"

Jon didn't move, simply looking at him with an expression somewhere between confusion and worry.

"That means you're in," Wes clarified, sitting down again.

"Sweet," Jon whistled, a small grin appearing on the giant's face before he took his place on the other side of the room.

"Next up is Jeff," Wes announced. Jeff felt his stomach twist uncomfortably. With less than a day to prepare, he was singing the only song he could guarantee that he wouldn't mess up the words to. He took his place in the middle of the room; he couldn't help but glance at Blaine, who winked in encouragement. Jeff's heart flip flopped in his chest as he began to sing.

Blaine was the first on his feet when Jeff finished off Teenage Dream but the rest of the room followed soon after.

"We'll need to work on your dance moves a little but that's a minor thing," Wes said encouragingly, gesturing for him to join the other Warblers. Jeff nodded in agreement; he'd been so busy trying not to purposefully sing the song to Blaine, that he'd fallen into a routine of shuffling from foot to foot, accompanied by a few, often out of time, finger snaps.

"Great song choice by the way," Thad piped up, "something to add to our repertoire I think." The rest of the council nodded in agreement.

Jeff went to sit beside Blaine, who squeezed his shoulder in congratulations, and gave a sneaky thumbs up to Nick from across the room. Nick, meanwhile, was just coming to the realisation that it was probably now too late for him to run from the room. On shaking legs, he walked to the middle of the room and begun his a cappella version of Uptown Girl.

* * *

"I can't believe we both got in, this is the best first day ever!" Jeff shrieked, as he and Nick headed back towards their room.

"Oh yeah!" Jeff yelled down the corridor; from somewhere behind them Nick heard the call being echoed.

"That was...creepy," Nick commented, unable to stop himself from grinning at his roommate's excitement.

"No, dude, it's the Warbler call!" Jeff explained, "Blaine taught it to me."

"Of course he did," Nick muttered under his breath.

"I'm meeting him for a coffee in ten minutes, actually, do you want to join us?"

Nick frowned. _Did he want to be the third wheel on his roommate's coffee date? Hm. No. _

"I've got some homework I need to do, so I think I'll just stay here," Nick lied.

"Bummer, homework on the first day," Jeff made a disgusted face, "I'll see you later then."

Nick waved in response as Jeff headed back up the hall that they'd just come down.

Nick sat down on his bed with a sigh. He had no right to be jealous of this Blaine guy; Jeff had no idea he was even gay. He pressed the palms of his hand into his eyes in frustration. But, _still. _They'd known each other a day and they were already going out for coffee. Jeff doesn't even _drink _coffee! Stupid, smooth talking, curly haired _Warbler._

_Well, _he thought to himself with a smile, _I guess I'm a Warbler now too. _


	2. October

Nick lay on his bed, ignoring the French books spread out in front of him. He turned the volume up on his iPod, humming along absentmindedly. _Where is Jeff anyway?_ he thought angrily, _tutoring sessions don't usually run this late._

* * *

Jeff sighed happily, nodding automatically at whatever Blaine had just said about the equations of circles. Blaine's hair had reached its end of the day stage; curls falling loosely across his forehead. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, his tie hung messily from the collar and his battered glasses kept falling down his nose.

Basically, Jeff was in _heaven._

"Jeff," Blaine yelled, clicking his fingers in front of the blond's face. He chuckled, pulling his glasses off and throwing them on the table. "Think I lost you there."

Jeff blushed. "Sorry, zoned out a bit."

"I don't blame you," Blaine replied, looking at his watch. "It's after 9pm, how...?!" He shook his head, smiling a little. "Time to call it a night, I reckon," Blaine said, pulling his books together. "I'll see you at Warbler practice tomorrow."

With one final shoulder squeeze, he was gone, leaving Jeff alone in the now dark and deserted library. Jeff hummed to himself quietly as he gathered up his things, allowing himself to think back on little moments from the day: how Blaine's hand had brushed his when he lent him a pen in English; the way Blaine's eyelashes flutter when he first puts his glasses on; the smile Blaine had given him when he'd walked into the library.

* * *

Nick looked up as Jeff walked into the room around 9.30pm.

"Jesus, dude, I thought you'd got lost in the library or something," he said as his roommate flopped onto his bed.

"Nick," Jeff mumbled through his pillow.

"Yeah?" Nick replied, closing the textbook, that he hadn't even glanced at all evening, with a sigh.

Jeff lifted his head. "I really like Blaine," he said quietly, a small smile on his face.

_Well, no shit Sherlock_, Nick thought with a roll of his eyes.

"That's great," was all he said, plastering a stiff smile across his face.

"Do you think he likes me back?" Jeff asked seriously, biting his lip nervously.

_Deliciously_, Nick thought, before pulling himself back to reality.

"Uh, yeah?" he offered; it seemed easiest to tell him exactly what he wanted to hear.

Jeff sighed happily, rolling onto his back. "You don't have to worry about this stuff, with your girlfriend and all," Jeff said wistfully.

"My...right, yeah," Nick trailed off, "it's great, yeah, um, great." _Crap, they actually thought I was being serious? _

Last week, during a dull Warbler practice (Wes had been out sick and with no-one to bang the gavel, things got off-topic pretty quickly) Trent had been quizzing everyone endlessly on their love lives, or lack thereof. When Jon had finally admitted to having a long distance girlfriend in Texas, Trent had just snorted. "Next thing, Nick will be telling us that he has a girlfriend who's a cheerleader," he snickered, accompanied by one of his characteristic hand gestures that had earned him the nickname 'sassy Warbler'.

By this time, Nick had been in no mood to argue, simply saying "of course I do" sarcastically. Apparently his tone hadn't caught on. Nick was fairly sure he didn't even know any cheerleaders.

"What's her name?" Jeff asked, pulling Nick back to the present.

"Erm...Sa..." Nick started. _What was the name of that girl I met at grandmother's annual summer barbecue? I'm sure she'd said something about cheerleading._ "Santana!" he yelled triumphantly. Jeff seemed satisfied.

"Tell me about her," he said simply, rolling on to his side to face Nick.

"Well, she's a cheerleader."

"Yeah, I remember that."

_Oh god_, Nick thought, _what else do I know about her? Oh! Her girlfriend's called Brittany. On second thoughts, best keep that one to myself._

"She's awesome," Nick said confidently.

"Cool," Jeff replied with a shrug, grabbing his book from the nightstand and starting to read.

_I am so screwed_, was all Nick could think to himself.

* * *

_Jeff came up to him in the corridor, greeting him with a quick hug._

_"Now, don't be mad baby," he whispered to Nick huskily, "but someone else is going to join us for our Halloween plans."_

_Nick nodded, breathing in the familiar smell of Jeff. But the blond was moving away from him; pulling another boy into focus._

_Nick snarled at the sight of Blaine._

_"Now, baby, I said don't be mad," Jeff said, shaking his head sadly._

_Blaine giggled, pulling Jeff towards him for a kiss._

_An alarm seemed to be sounding, all around them, but Jeff and Blaine didn't seen to notice, their bodies continuing to entwine around one another..._

Nick woke up just as Jeff turned the alarm off, silencing the loud noise.

"We need to choose a new alarm tone," Jeff grumbled. "Worst way to wake up."

Nick hummed in agreement.

"Jeff?" he asked cautiously, pulling himself out of bed.

"Yeah?" Jeff replied, as he headed towards the bathroom.

"We're still hanging out on Halloween, right? Trick or treating and then horror movies?"

"Uh, yeah," Jeff said with a light laugh. "Why are you asking this now?"

"Just...a weird dream, I don't know," Nick said with a shrug.

Nick breathed a sigh of relief as Jeff closed the bathroom door.

"I think I'm losing it," he said to himself quietly. He shrugged it off and begun to get ready for the day.

* * *

"Right, listen up everyone! I've got a new number for us to try out today," Wes yelled over the chattering Warblers. "Blaine, I want you to take one of the solos..."

There were a few eye rolls and mock gasps; quickly silenced by a glance from Wes.

"However, this one's a duet. So, taking the other part..." Wes glanced around the room.

_Please please please please_, Jeff chanted in his head.

"...Nick, please," Wes decided.

"I'm sorry, what?" Nick snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his name.

Wes was holding out a part to him, various Warblers were looking at him with a mixture of awe and envy, while Jeff just looked like he might cry. _Bad time to zone out, I guess._

"Duet with Blaine, come on guys, let's go!" Wes said impatiently, handing out parts.

Nick looked down at the paper. "Are you serious?" he asked Wes.

"I know it's typically a female duet, but I don't want us to be put at a disadvantage just because we don't have any girls," Wes explained. He paused. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I suppose someone else can take the part..."

"No, it's fine," Nick sighed. _Surprisingly perfect actually_, he thought bitterly as the group started bashing through The Boy is Mine.

* * *

"Great job guys, that's really coming together! We'll call it a day there," Wes called out to the group. "Nick, Blaine, amazing energy, keep up the good work."

Nick smiled through gritted teeth. Funnily enough, it hadn't been that difficult getting into character, especially when he could see the little glances Blaine was sneaking at Jeff in between lines.

"Awesome singing with you!" Blaine called cheerfully out to Nick who nodded vaguely in response.

"Patronising dick," he mumbled under his breath. Blaine wasn't an easy guy to hate, but Nick was doing his absolute best to try.

* * *

Nick smeared the blood across his arms. His mom was going to kill him when he took this shirt home to be cleaned; experience told him that fake blood was not easy to get out of clothing. He looked at himself in the mirror skeptically. He'd never been very creative when it came to Halloween costumes, so a dead Dalton student would have to do.

"Hey!" Jeff started as he came out of the bathroom. "Creepy."

"Once a Warbler, always a Warbler," Nick droned in a zombie-like tone.

Jeff laughed appreciatively. Nick took in his costume.

"Uh, hey Shaggy, where's Scooby?" Nick joked.

"On his way," Jeff replied cheerfully.

_Wait, what?_

"I thought it was just us..." Nick trailed off, all too aware of what Jeff was probably about to say.

"Didn't I tell you? Blaine's coming," Jeff said, his phone buzzing in his pocket, "oh, he's outside waiting for us; apparently my mom's already here!"

"Awesome," Nick said flatly, grabbing his blazer and trailing after Jeff.

* * *

The three of them lay across the floor of Jeff's bedroom, stuffed fully of candy and all a little bit drunk. Nick glared angrily at Blaine, whose doggy face paint had smudged but still somehow left him looking adorable. Jeff had been practically drooling all night.

"I'm tired," Jeff stated simply, breaking the silence and giggling as Blaine tried to lay his head in Jeff's lap.

"So, who's sleeping where?" Nick asked, looking at the bed and the two mattresses on the floor. _I can't think of anything worse than having to sleep next to Blaine, let alone a slightly drunk Blaine. _

"Um..." Jeff looked up briefly from Blaine's ridiculous puppy impression. "How about you take the bed and we'll sleep on the floor."

_No, that's definitely worse. _

* * *

Nick turned towards the wall, bitterly fighting back the tears. _This is your own stupid fault, _he reminded himself, _maybe, if you'd just told Jeff that you're gay, he'd be looking at you like that, instead of _him_. _He could still hear the two of them giggling and- _oh, you have got to be kidding._ Nick shut his eyes and tried to block out what was undoubtedly the sound of Jeff and Blaine kissing.

* * *

"Maybe I should sleep now," Blaine giggled, rubbing his nose against Jeff's.

"Okay," Jeff whispered. He ran a finger over his lips, still tingling from where Blaine had kissed him. _BlainekissedmeBlainekissedme Blainekissedme. _He sighed happily and slid his hand into Blaine's as he closed his eyes.

Nick bit his lip furiously and dug his phone out from under the pillow. He scrolled through his contacts until he found the number he was looking for; the number his grandmother had insisted he take despite his insistence that he was gay. He quickly tapped out a text: _I need to ask you a favor. Call me._ and hit _Send to Santana Lopez. _


	3. November

Nick sat across from Santana in the Lima Bean, anxiously fiddling with his coffee cup as he waited for her answer.

"Okay," she said, finally, with a shrug.

"Okay?" Nick repeat in disbelief.

"Sure, why not? I might be gay but even I can tell that you have a great ass."

Nick blushed as Santana fixed him with one her devilish smiles.

"Besides," she continued, quieter this time, "considering what's going on at McKinley at the moment; I don't think now is the best time for me to be officially coming out."

Just in that moment, he saw a side to Santana that he'd never seen before: the side that was struggling with the same things that he was. _Except that I've already come out once,_ he reminded himself.

"So, tell me about Jeff," Santana said, "is he hot?"

Just like that, the smile was back and she waggled her eyebrows suggestively, just to prove the point.

"You have no idea," Nick replied, with a grin. _Maybe spending time with Santana wouldn't be so bad after all._

* * *

"Dude, come on, let's go!" Jeff came barreling down the corridor towards Nick, tugging him violently in the direction that he'd just come from.

"Woah, where are we going?" Nick asked, completely confused as Jeff continued dragging Nick through the school. "Also, ow."

Jeff realised he was still forcibly pulling him along and let go with an apologetic grin.

"Warblers impromptu performance in the senior common room," Jeff explained, running ahead.

"Wait, what number?" Nick called out to his quickly disappearing friend.

"Teenage Dream!" Jeff yelled back.

_Uh, Teenage Dream, okay um. God, Jeff looked so adorable when he sung that for his audition. _Nick sighed happily at the memory. _Focus, dude! Okay. Teenage Dream. Dadadadada, ooohs and sidesteps. Right, I can do this. _Nick quickly sped up to catch up with Jeff, who was already nearly out of sight.

* * *

Jeff reached the common room soon after, pushing past the gathering audience to take his place in the group. Nick sprinted in seconds after and mouthed a quick 'thank you' across to Jeff. _Where the hell is Blaine?_ Jeff wondered, looking around the room with a frown. _He's supposed to be doing the solo part..._ He hadn't seen Blaine since Halloween and all his texts had gone unanswered.

Jeff breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the familiar head of curls walk through the door. _Who the hell is that? _Jeff thought bitterly as he took in the tall, dainty boy that Blaine was talking to.

"I think he might be a new kid, wanting to try out," he heard people whispering behind him, just as confused as Jeff was.

_New kids don't usually walk in to a performance, hand in hand, with our soloist, _Jeff seethed.

Nick had noticed Blaine and the stranger too; he glanced over at Jeff in concern. His anger and hurt was written clearly across his face. _This is not going to end well. _

* * *

The room erupted into applause and cheers as the number came to an end. Nick hazarded another look at Jeff; it was pretty clear to everyone in the room that Blaine had just sung that entire number to the new guy. Jeff's face was pink, he was blinking furiously as if to stop himself from crying and his hands kept balling into fists at this sides.

Nick started towards Jeff; he needed get his friend out of here, right now. But he was forced to stop as he was suddenly surrounded by various Warblers.

"So, rumor has it, a very hot young lady wearing a McKinley High cheerleading uniform was seen heading towards your room," Trent said, one eyebrow raised.

"What?" Nick asked, exasperated. He didn't have time for this; he needed to get to Jeff out of the room before that boy did something stupid.

* * *

"Hey, Blaine, wait!" Jeff called out, pushing past people to get to the boy.

"Jeff," Blaine replied, not quite meeting his gaze, "look, I can't talk right now, we're taking Kurt out for coffee."

With that, he was gone, leaving Jeff in the now quickly emptying common room.

_Coffee? He's taking _Kurt _out for coffee?_

Jeff ran from the room, knowing that it would be only moments before he would turn into a blubbering mess. He ran straight into his room, throwing himself onto his bed with a shriek into his pillow.

"You must be Jeff," a female voice said from the other side of the room.

* * *

"What Trent is trying to say," Jon chimed in with a sigh, "is that your girlfriend's here for a booty call."

"Oh." Nick said bluntly, before excusing himself from the group. There were only a few people left in the common room; a quick glance told him that Jeff wasn't one of them.

* * *

"Santana?" Jeff asked curiously, hastily wiping his eyes.

She nodded in response, taking in his disheveled appearance with an air of disdain.

"Whoever he is, he's not worth it," she said simply, going back to flipping through Nick's copy of GQ. She was interrupted moments later as her phone rang and she answered it with an irritated sigh.

"What do you want, Berry?...No, I'm not coming to practice today, you'll just have to cope without my talent for one day...I'm at Dalton, visiting my sugar," she said the last line with a wink at Jeff.

_Maybe that's my signal to clear out,_ he thought to himself, confused.

"What do you mean Kurt's here?...Well, I haven't seen pixie face..."

Jeff sat up abruptly. _Kurt? Wasn't that the guy that Blaine was with? _He waved his hands in front of Santana's face manically.

"Hold on...Berry, shut up for a second," she covered the mouthpiece with her hand. "What are you having a fit about?"

"Kurt, I saw him, he was watching our Warbler number," Jeff said breathlessly.

Santana shrugged and went back to her phone conversation. "Okay, he's here. Spying on the competition from the sound of things...Oh...Well, whatever. Yeah...Bye."

_Wait, spying?_

"You're in glee club?" Jeff asked, eyeing the cheerleader warily.

"Yeah. Apparently Puck sent Kurt to spy on our competition for sectionals," she explained.

"I'll be right back," Jeff said, running towards the door.

Nick walked in at just that moment, slamming straight into a frantic Jeff.

"Hey, are you ok-" Nick started.

"I can't talk right now, there's something I need to do," Jeff said quickly, pushing past Nick. He paused. "Oh and Santana really is awesome."

As Jeff left the room, Nick turned to face Santana.

"What are you doing here?"

"Keeping up appearances. Also I haven't seen this yet." She held up Nick's copy of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. "Movie and fake snuggle?" she asked, with a grin.

Nick glanced back to where Jeff had just gone.

"He'll come to you when he's ready to talk," Santana reassured him.

Nick shrugged and walked over to join her on the bed.

* * *

Blaine glanced down at his phone. Jeff's number flashed up on the screen, for the third time, as it continued ringing. With a sigh, he hit the ignore button again, opting to turn it on silent and throw it in his bag. He looked across to where Wes and Kurt were standing, waiting for their coffees.

"What's going on?" David asked, fixing Blaine with a hard stare.

"Nothing," Blaine replied sulkily.

"You've been going on for weeks about how well you've been getting on with Jeff and now you won't answer his calls."

"It's got nothing to do with you, David, don't get involved."

David sighed and reached for his phone as it started ringing.

"It would seem I already am," he said as he answered the call. "Hey, Jeff." He looked pointedly at Blaine, who merely scowled.

David laughed lightly. "Don't worry about it, we already know...That's not why we're-...Jeff, seriously, I promise he's not about to steal our set list, calm down...Yeah...Yeah, I'll tell him...Bye."

"Seriously? That's why he was calling?" Blaine said with a sigh, shaking his head.

"Well, that and to convey a message that you are refusing to take yourself."

"And what would that be?"

"You're meeting him at seven, next to the lake."

"DAVID."

David simply smiled sweetly at his friend as Wes and Kurt rejoined them at the table.

* * *

Jeff let his head fall against the wall with a thump. _I'll talk things through with Blaine, everything's going to be fine. Great, it's going to be great._ He started back towards his room, until he remembered that Santana and Nick were there together. He bit his lip, wondering where he could shelter until they were finished doing...whatever they were doing.

Jeff found himself, after 10 minutes of aimlessly wandering the halls, outside Thad's door. He knocked lightly. He didn't know the guy very well, but he'd always been friendly to Jeff. Also, it was this or Trent; and he wasn't in the mood to listen to him speculating about what Nick and his girlfriend might be doing in their room just now.

Thad pulled the door open, surprised to see Jeff standing there.

"Well, hello," he grinned, standing back and gesturing for Jeff to come inside. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Um..." Jeff blushed under Thad's intense gaze. He wasn't sure why, but it did feel a little bit like he was undressing him with his eyes. "Santana - Nick's girlfriend - is here so I figured that I should keep out of the room for a while."

Thad laughed, nodding in understanding. "Make yourself at home," he said, with another grin.

* * *

"Well," Santana said, stretching her arms above her head in a catlike motion, "this has been surprisingly fun but I'm going to get going."

"Sure, okay," Nick mumbled; he'd been half asleep for the last hour.

He watched, bleary eyed, as she grabbed her bag from the floor, heading to the door. She blew him a kiss, said she'd call and was gone. It occurred to Nick that he hadn't seen Jeff since he'd ran out of the room earlier that afternoon. Santana's words rung in his head. _He'll come to you when he's ready to talk. _With a dozy shrug, Nick let his head hit the pillow and quickly slipped back into nap mode.

* * *

Jeff sat at the grass on the edge of the lake, shivering profusely. He hadn't been back to his room before coming here but he hadn't really wanted to take up Thad's offer of borrowing a sweater. They'd spent the last couple of hours mostly playing video games, as the afternoon slipped into evening. Every now and again, Thad would innocently rub Jeff's thigh or something equally as bizarre. Jeff shook his head in confusion. _One thing at a time._

Jeff heard footsteps on the grass behind him but he didn't look up. Blaine's shoulder brushed his as he sat down.

"I'm sorry," Blaine said quietly, his breath appearing as a cloud in front of his face in the cold air. "I'm sorry I kissed you. I'm sorry if that made you think that this, us, was something more. I'm just sorry."

Jeff didn't know what to say._ I'd wanted an apology; but not for that_.

"That's what you're sorry for?" Jeff whispered. He was grateful for the dark so Blaine couldn't seen the tears forming in his eyes.

"Jeff." Blaine turned to face the other boy. "Jeff, look at me."

Reluctantly, he turned to face his dark-haired friend.

"Sure, we've only known each other a little while, but you are one of my best friends. I won't, I can't, do anything to screw that up."

Jeff knew that the words were somehow supposed to make him feel better, but instead they just hurt more.

"Honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing." Blaine laughed nervously and Jeff couldn't help but smile.

"I was getting that impression," he replied drily, earning himself a light push from Blaine.

"So, Kurt, huh?" Jeff asked, ignoring the aching feeling in his chest. He had to just deal with this. He wasn't going to let himself lose Blaine as a friend just because of some stupid, childish feelings.

"Maybe?" Blaine said vaguely, letting his head fall into his hands. "I get the feeling it's going to be an interesting couple of months," he mumbled.

Jeff nodded in agreement with a sigh. _If my first three here are anything to go by, it's going to be a hellish couple of months. _

* * *

When Jeff got into his room shortly after, the lights were off, with just the glare of the outside floodlights shining in through the open curtains. He turned on the light without thinking about it, causing Nick to sit bolt upright in alarm.

"Jesus christ," he groaned, squinting at the light.

"Sorry," Jeff said with a sigh, sitting down on his bed.

Nick sat up to look across at his friend. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jeff smiled sadly. "Not really."

Nick nodded and unsure what else he could do, went and sat beside Jeff, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"I could punch him if you want?" Nick offered quietly, feeling Jeff laugh softly under his supportive arm.

"No," Jeff sighed. "He made it completely clear. Now I just have to deal with that and move on."

"Yeah, sure, easier said than done though, right?"

"Right," Jeff agreed, instinctively curling into Nick's chest.

Nick felt his heart rate increase at the feel of Jeff's body tucked so close to his. _I'd give anything to just be able to kiss the pain away. I wish I could tell you that. I wish I could show you. _Nick sighed, knowing he had move away from the blond boy before he did something he'd regret later. Jeff had had enough things messing with his head for one day; he couldn't do that to him.

Nick stood up, looking down at him. Jeff murmured a 'thank you' and smiled weakly, before heading to the bathroom. Nick sat down on his bed, staring at the closed bathroom door.

"Oh Jeff," he whispered to himself, "you're breaking my heart."

* * *

_He was hovering above a scene but it was as if it was all taking place within a bubble that he couldn't penetrate. He could just see Blaine and that new kid, Kurt, on one side of the bubble, Jeff at the other. He pressed closer to the bubble, anger prickling inside him as he saw Blaine begin to trail kisses down Kurt's cheek, his neck, along his jaw. He yelled out, desperately trying to tell them to stop, to tell Jeff to get out of there, but they couldn't hear him. He kept trying. He had to get to Jeff. He had to comfort him. He had to hold him and make the pain go away. _

* * *

Jeff woke up early the next morning. He sat on the window sill looking out across the quiet lawn. Dalton was eerily beautiful at that time of the morning, before the halls and grounds became filled with the echoes of the hundreds of people that passed through it every day. He looked across at his Nick, who was frowning in his sleep. _Bad dream, probably_. He smiled as he remembered the way Nick had comforted him last night. _Thank god for Nick._

As Jeff started to get his things together, he made himself a promise for the day. A promise that he would give himself a fresh start. _None of this moping around over Blaine, _he told himself sternly, _you're young, you're surrounded by friends and you have every right to be _happy_. _

* * *

Jeff's promise lasted until lunch. He walked into the dining hall, a smile on his face, with Thad, who he'd had Biology with just before lunch.

"Thank you, by the way, for yesterday," Jeff added.

"Feel free to drop by anytime," Thad replied with that same grin, before excusing himself to go and see some friends.

Jeff saw Nick waving from the other side of the hall once he had got his lunch and had just sat down when Blaine walked up.

"Warblers, I want you to officially meet Kurt," he said, quickly rattling off introductions to the new boy, who nodded and smiled politely in return. "He'll have to audition, obviously, but I'm sure he'll soon be one of us."

The two of them sat down at the table and the other boys looked around at each other with some confusion.

"Oh, so you go to Dalton now?" Nick asked on behalf of the group, trying his best not to send death ray glares in Blaine's general direction.

"Yes, I had some...problems at McKinley, that I had to get away from, so," Kurt finished with a shrug, looking down at his plate.

Jeff hadn't moved since they'd sat down at the table. He watched as he saw Blaine's hand squeeze Kurt's arm reassuringly.

"I just remembered something that I have to go and do, so I'll just see you guys later," he said quickly, abandoning his lunch and walking as fast as would look normal from the hall.

Nick sighed and quickly followed, with an angry backwards glance at Blaine. One that he was completely oblivious to, as he was busily chattering away to Kurt. _One day that guy is going to get punched in the face and I sure as hell am not going to stop it_, Nick thought with some grim satisfaction.

Nick followed Jeff's blond head as it weaved through the crowded corridors until he reached the first floor bathrooms. He got inside just as a cubicle door shut and he heard the lock clicking. Throwing his bag to the floor, he perched on the windowsill and begun humming, trying not to notice how Jeff was lightly sobbing.

"I hope you realise that I'm not going to leave until you come out of there," Nick called out in a singsong voice.

"You're such a dick," he heard Jeff snuffle.

* * *

Nick stepped off the stage with an exhausted sigh. The last couple of weeks had passed in a blur of looking after Jeff, rehearsing for Sectionals, looking after Jeff, desperately trying to keep up with homework and, oh, right, looking after Jeff.

In a fit of exasperation the week before, Nick had ended up point blankly asking why Jeff didn't just try to get over him. Jeff had fixed him with a cold stare to an extent that Nick had been about to give in, before answering him.

"Because he and Kurt aren't together yet." Nick had looked at him like he was insane around that point. "I know, I know, it's _insane_, but as long as they're just friends, there's that tiny part of my brain that keeps saying 'you still have a chance!'"

Jeff had sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily before turning his doe-eyed gaze on Nick. "Does that make any sense?"

Nick had simply nodded. _Yes, it makes a lot of sense. It's the part of the brain that keeps telling me that I have a chance with _you.

Nick had promised Jeff right there and then that he'd stick with him as long as it took to get him through this. In return, Jeff had promised to stop being quite such a pain in the ass.

The deal had worked out pretty well for both of them.

* * *

Now, with a win at Sectionals under the Warblers' belt, Wes would be piling on the pressure even more to get them ready for Regionals. _Fantastic_, Nick thought bitterly. He looked up to see Santana striding towards him, with a satisfied grin on her face; they'd won joint first place with McKinley High's New Directions.

"Great job Miss Soloist," he said with a mock bow.

"Why, thank you. Great job Mr Bobbing in the Background," she hit back, with a small curtsey.

Nick punched her playfully on the arm and after a quick glance around to see that yes, most of the Warblers and New Directions were watching them intently, leaned down to place a chaste kiss against her lips. _That still feels weird. _

As they broke apart, he could see from her expression that she was thinking exactly the same thing and they grinned at each other in amusement.

"How's he doing?" Santana murmured, nodding in Jeff's direction.

Nick shrugged. "Better, I think." He sighed. "It's exhausting."

"You're a good friend," Santana said sincerely, giving Nick a quick hug before returning to her team. "Call me!" she yelled across the green room, with a conspiratorial wink.

"Victory party in the common room!" Blaine yelled among the Warblers, which was met with several cheers. Nick grabbed Jeff by the hand and pulled him after the rest of their friends, earning what he could honestly say was the first true smile he'd seen from Jeff in weeks.


	4. December

Wes looked around the Warblers with a sigh. For the first occasion in his time on the council, he hadn't had to yell obscenely to get everyone quiet. _This is so not normal_, he thought with a frown_. And with Regionals just around the corner, once Christmas is over, this is so not good._

Nick sat on the couch at the back of the room, his eyes fixed on Jeff's blond head and yet glazed over as if he was lost in some deep thought. The only time his focus would break would be on the rare moments when Jeff moved at all; then Nick would instantly be alert, appearing to be furtively checking that yes, his friend was still alive and well, before slipping back into his daze. Jeff was sitting at his feet, knees curled up to his chest, chin propped up on his knees. He was also staring off in a meaningless way although it seemed as though, rather than thinking about anything at all, he was just numb.

Meanwhile, Kurt and Blaine sat on one end of the couch nearest him, with Jon at the other end of it. Jon, Wes noted, appeared to be the only boy in the room who wasn't in some depressed funk. He lounged just as he always would, taking up over the half the sofa, humming vaguely to himself. This left Kurt and Blaine, squished up shoulder to shoulder. _I don't understand, I thought they were friends, _Wes shrieked internally. They looked horribly uncomfortable; every now and again, one of them would shift slightly and a hushed chorus of apologies would follow. Occasionally, one would glance at the other, but quickly pull their gaze away when the other noticed.

As for everyone else, well, as far as Wes could tell, they were all just not-so-slyly playing Temple Run on their phones. That included Thad and David, which Wes was none too pleased about.

Trent, clearly having been beaten by falling off a cliff one time too many, threw his phone down and sighed loud enough to break the hazy silence that had fallen over the room.

"Maybe we could put up some Christmas decorations in here," he suggested, looking around the dark, cold room.

This seemed to wake up a few more of the group, who nodded in agreement.

"And would it kill you to put the fire on?" Jeff added, fixing Wes with a pointed stare.

"I second that; the only person who's probably not feeling cold right now is Pavarotti and that's because he has a birdcage cover. And feathers," Kurt stated simply, gesturing to the canary sitting on the table in the middle of the room and recrossing his legs awkwardly.

"Fine," Wes said with a weary sigh, rubbing a hand over his eyes. "We'll use tomorrow's practice to get this place feeling a bit more festive and then back to work the day after."

There were some hums of consent. _I'm not getting anything more out of them today, am I?_

"Practice adjourned," Wes sighed, waving for them to leave the room. _This is a disaster._ Wes sat down in exhaustion in the now empty choir room. _And we're going to lose._

Wes looked up, confused, as he heard a loud knock on the door. Jon stood awkwardly in the doorway, obviously waiting for Wes to say something first.

"It means you can go Jon," Wes said with a sigh.

"Uh, no, not that," Jon replied, walking into the room a little.

"Then what?"

"I know what we need to do, to get the energy back, but...I don't think you're going to like it."

Wes put his head in his hands in despair. _What have we got to lose?_

* * *

"I cannot believe I let you talk me into this," Wes hissed as he and Jon hovered outside the door to the Warblers' practice room. Jon shrugged as he slowly turned the key in the lock, desperately trying not to alert the boys inside of what he was doing.

"It'll work. Trust me," was all Jon said to reassure Wes.

Jeff, along with various other Warblers, joined the boys outside the door. It took about ten minutes before anyone questioned Wes as to why they were all standing outside of the room. Wes simply pointed at Jon, shaking his head.

"I've locked Kurt and Blaine in," Jon announced with a satisfied grin. The rest of the Warblers looked at their teammate, all with the same look on their faces: _dude, you have lost your mind._

"Just listen to me," Jon started. "My sister did this with my parents at Christmas last year because they were fighting and it was getting everyone down."

His friends just continued to stare at him.

"It'll work," Jon repeated, pocketing the key and walking away from the group, down the corridor.

The Warblers turned their gaze on Wes now.

"I was out of ideas?" Wes said warily, with an exhausted shrug.

"Hang on, do they even know?" Jeff finally asked. By this time, many of his fellow Warblers had already left, muttering about how this was the end of the group and maybe it was time to give in and join the football team.

"Jon shoved a note under the door," Wes said with a roll of his eyes, before he, too, left.

Jeff stared at the locked door, wondering what was going on inside. _Just wait until I tell Nick about this_, he thought, not being able to hold back a giggle_._

* * *

Nick, meanwhile, was standing in the middle of The Gap, staring down rows upon rows of sweaters. He chewed his thumb in anger, before he gratefully heard a familiar voice approaching him.

"What's the big emergency?" Santana asked, walking up to Nick with a questioning expression.

Nick gestured to the sweaters, helplessly. "Which one would Jeff like best?"

"That's the emergency?" Santana replied tonelessly, her eyes narrowing.

Nick made a pleading face, batting his eyelashes hopefully.

"You're lucky I'm feeling generous baby," she sighed, finally turning her attention to the sweaters.

* * *

On the other side of the locked door, Blaine commented vaguely on the limited members of the decoration committee, as he sat in a pool of streamers and tinsel. Kurt wandered over to the door, attracted by a piece of white paper he saw lying just on the inside of the room.

_We're not letting you out until you've made use of the mistletoe. _

_Merry Christmas. _

_Love from Jon and the team. _

_P.S. If you happen to get the decorating done too, we'd much appreciate it._

Kurt read the note to Blaine, who turned an interesting shade of pink. With an exasperated sigh at the uselessness of the Warbler he hoped would soon be his boyfriend, Kurt strode across the room, capturing Blaine's lips in a soft, sweet kiss.

* * *

Nick walked out of The Gap with a satisfied smile on his face, swinging the bag containing the gorgeously wrapped brown, oak coloured sweater. _To match his eyes._

"So, where to next?" Santana asked.

Nick looked at her, his face blank.

"Are you kidding me? You're in love with the guy and you're just giving him a _sweater?_ What is wrong with you?!"

Nick decided it was best to stay quiet for fear that she might actually hit him. Santana stopped in the street, glaring at him, her mind ticking.

"Books," she said finally.

"Books," Nick repeated, still unsure what was going on.

"He loves books, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"What's his favourite?"

Nick paused, his mind flicking back to a couple of weeks before...

_Nick looked up from his homework to see Jeff reading, as usual. He frowned at the cover. _

_"Dude, you've read that book about five times in the last week alone."_

_Jeff blushed, looking down at the book. "Yeah, yeah I guess I have."_

_Nick gestured vaguely, hoping for some further explanation._

_Jeff sighed, putting his book down. "My parents gave it to me when I was eight. First time I tried to read it, I couldn't even finish it. The next time I picked it up was when I was thirteen; right after I'd come out. I read the entire thing in one night. And then the next night. And the next." Jeff shrugged, unsure how to continue. "I don't know why, but it's the biggest high in the world for me, reading this book."_

_Nick smiled at his roommate, seeing the light in Jeff's eyes that he loved so much but had so rarely seen in recent weeks._

_"Maybe you'll let me borrow it sometime."_

_Jeff had nodded, opening up to midway through the book again._

_The Three Musketeersby Alexandre Dumas, Nick had read from the faded, cracked cover. _

"Perfect!" Santana shrieked grabbing his hand and pulling him down the street.

* * *

The mistletoe lay forgotten in a box as one kiss became five, ten, twelve. It was a couple of hours later when Jeff, sitting with the other Warblers playing a never-ending game of Monopoly, received a text from Blaine:

_We've completed our first task, multiple times. Feel free to keep us in here but I require food and Kurt wants more tinsel. Love from, Blaine and Kurt._

Just to get the point across, Blaine had attached two pictures. One (which Jeff vowed to delete from his phone as soon as possible) of the two, their lips pressed together gently, with a sprig of mistletoe hanging above them. The other, (which Jeff vowed to keep for as long as possible) of Blaine curled up, clutching his stomach in desperation.

"I told you so," Jon said merrily, before turning to demand rent from a sulking David.

* * *

When Nick finally returned to Dalton that evening, he was drawn by the sound of voices from the senior common room. Ducking his head in, he found nearly all the Warblers engaged in what appeared to a fierce game of Monopoly.

"Well, you better start mortgaging some shit then, man, because you owe me!" Thad was yelling at Trent, waving a card in his face manically.

"Nope, I take back whatever apology I was about give for missing practice today," Nick said from the doorway, a look of horror on his face.

"There you are!" Jeff said in relief, jumping up from the game. "Trent, take my properties, I'm out. Good luck guys."

"Now, run for it," Jeff whispered to Nick, as they sprinted back to their room.

Jeff collapsed on his bed. "I thought I would never get out of there," he sobbed in exhaustion.

"Start from the beginning and tell me everything," Nick said calmly and seriously, his lips quirking in amusement.

* * *

Nick sat on his bed, staring at the two gifts sitting on the bed next to him. He checked the clock on the nightstand for the millionth time. _Oh god, they're all wrong aren't they. He's going to hate them. Screw it, I'll get him a gift certificate or something. _

Just as he was preparing to throw the gifts in the bin and pretend like the whole thing had never happened, Jeff appeared in the doorway, shaking snowflakes out of his blond hair.

"When did it get so cold?" he moaned, pulling the comforterfrom his bed to wrap around him before sitting down.

"I know Christmas isn't for another week, but since we'll be heading home in a couple of days, I wanted to give these to you now," Nick said quickly, feeling his cheeks flushing under Jeff's gaze.

Jeff squealed in delight, before a realisation seemed to hit him and his happiness turned swiftly to guilt.

_But he hasn't even seen them yet, how can he hate them already? Oh god oh god oh god._

"What, what is it? If you hate them, I can exchange them I guess or..." Nick trailed off, his heart racing.

"Oh my god, no, it's not that! It's just..." Jeff bit his lip, "I was going to do my Christmas shopping once the vacation starts so I haven't got...well...yours."

"I don't care! You don't even need to get me anything!" Nick reassured Jeff.

"Of course I'm getting you something you idiot!" Jeff laughed. "Okay, can I open then now then?"

Nick grinned, "this one first." He passed over the squishier of the packages.

He chewed his thumb nervously as Jeff ripped through the paper, pulling out the soft sweater.

"Wow," Jeff breathed, holding it out in front of him. "This is beautiful, I...thank you." He finished and with a giggle, pulled it straight over his head. "How is it you always give me exactly what I need?"

Nick shrugged, unable to stop a huge grin from appearing on his face.

"Okay, now this one," he said, passing across the second present.

Jeff mimed shaking it, tapping it, Nick, all the while, shaking his head at his child of a roommate.

Jeff pulled off the last of the wrapping paper (significantly less well wrapped since Nick had had to do this one himself), his eyes going saucer wide as he looked at the book in his hands.

"Is this a _first _edition?" he gaped, staring at Nick, who simply nodded.

Jeff had no idea how to express his gratitude (_a freaking first edition, how the hell am I supposed to top this?!_) settling for just leaping on his friend, hugging him as hard as he could without causing injury. Nick laughed into Jeff's shoulder. "So, you like it then?" he mumbled as Jeff continued to squeeze every breath out of him. _Well, this is the best Christmas present I've ever had,_ Nick thought with a blissful sigh.

* * *

"Settle down guys, let's focus please," Wes shouted across the practice room. _I've never been so happy to yell in my entire life_. "We've been asked to perform at the Westerville community centre's Christmas concert this weekend. It's pretty last minute, so can we persuade Blaine and Kurt to recreate the Baby It's Cold Outside duet that we _all_ heard floating around while you were decorating the other day?" The couple nodded happily, Blaine's head resting on Kurt's shoulder. Jeff looked at the pair and smiled. _I can't remember ever seeing Blaine looking that happy, _he thought to himself, noting how much less it ached every day.

"And for the group number, I think we should just pull out Let It Snow. Any volunteers for a solo part?"

"Well, I, for one, would love to put my name down for that, Wes," came a velvety voice from behind the group. There was a moment of a silence across the room. "Had we all forgotten that my foreign exchange was only lasting six months?" the voice continued.

Leaning against the doorframe was a tall boy; his hair was style in perfect waves across his head; a small smile tugged at the corners of his well formed mouth; his Dalton uniform fitting him as if it had been tailored.

Blaine was sitting upright now, a look somewhere between anger and disgust on his face; many of the other seniors shared a similar look. The juniors looked from one another, both entranced and bewildered by the stranger. Jeff looked to Nick, who merely shrugged. Nick couldn't seem to keep his eyes off the mysterious boy, however. There was something about him that drew his attention in a way he couldn't explain. The boy caught Nick's gaze for a second and Nick could feel heat pooling throughout his body from the way his eyes smoldered right into his.

Wes was the one to break the cold atmosphere that had fallen across the room with the stranger's arrival.

"Welcome back, Sebastian."


	5. January

"Jeff!" The blond turned around, at the sound of his name, to see Blaine bounding towards him. "Hey!" the dark-haired boy said as he pulled Jeff in for a friendly hug. "How were your holidays?"

"Good, really good," Jeff said honestly, thinking back over the last couple of weeks he'd spent with his family; even seeing Sam for a weekend. "How about yours?"

Blaine sighed. "Manageable," he said simply, "Coop made a surprise appearance."

Jeff nodded in understanding; he'd heard all about Blaine's exuberant older brother.

"There you are," came a familiar voice from behind Blaine, as Kurt walked up to join the boys, slipping his hand naturally into Blaine's.

The boys exchanged chitchat for a while, until Kurt pulled Blaine off to see what he'd got in the sales. Jeff watched the two of them walk away, Blaine's arm wrapped around Kurt's waist, and smiled to himself. _It doesn't hurt anymore._

* * *

When Jeff got to his room, he found Nick sitting outside, his bags piled up beside him.

"Let me guess, you forgot your key?"

Nick jumped up at the sound of his friend's voice and grinned hopelessly. "Close; my key is locked_ in_ the room."

Jeff rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh, giving Nick a quick hug before opening the door.

Nick beamed. _He still smells like that strawberry kids' shampoo._ "So, no-one bought you grown-up shampoo for Christmas then?"

Jeff threw a pillow in his roommate's direction just as Nick finished dragging his things into the room.

"Dude, it's 'no tears' and I have sensitive eyes, how many times?" he grumbled, flushing slightly.

* * *

"Well, hello again," Sebastian drawled as he took the seat behind Nick in History. "Nick, is it?"

Nick turned to face him, unable to keep a blush from creeping over his face as he nodded.

"It's a pleasure. But, let's get straight to the point - how long are you going to keep up the bashful schoolboy thing before you let me take you out on a date?" He cocked his head questioningly, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "A rough estimate will do."

"I, uh, I..." Nick cleared his throat awkwardly. _Get it together, Nick, come on. _"I'm flattered but I'm straight."

"Not with that ass you're not," Sebastian hit back, just as their teacher walked in the room.

* * *

By the time Santana got to the Lima Bean, Nick already had both their coffees sitting on the table.

"You know my coffee order? How cute," she smirked, before laughing and sitting down next to him.

Nick leaned forward to kiss her but Santana stopped him, placing a hand gently but firmly on his chest.

"This isn't a 'keeping up appearances' coffee date?" Nick asked.

Santana shook her head. "No, this is a 'we need to talk' coffee date."

"Uh-oh," Nick replied, his tone somewhere between joking and nervous.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking over the holidays and I've realised that I'm tired of hiding who I am." She took a deep breath. "I love Brittany and I want to be with her, screw the consequences." She placed her hand over Nick's on the table. "I think you should do the same. I want you to be happy and we both know that's not going to happen until you're with Jeff."

Nick sat in a stunned silence. He knew that what she was saying was true but..._What am I supposed to do? _He resorted to just nodding.

"It's not you, it's me?" Santana offered, earning a smile from the boy. "I'm sorry," she said, standing up, her coffee remaining untouched. She kissed his forehead lightly. "See you at Regionals," she whispered, with a grin, and then she was gone.

* * *

Nick lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, desperately trying to find the words to tell Jeff the truth. Jeff crashed into the room just then, throwing his bag on the floor with a growl.

Before Nick even had a chance to ask, Jeff was off. "I could so tell, I said to him - Sam - about ten times that I could tell he had a girlfriend. And he was just like 'no, dude, you're wrong.' Then, by text, _by text_, he tells me, 'actually you were right, we've been together since October'." Jeff paused for a breath. "I just hate liars, right?" he finished, collapsing onto his bed. "I know it's a...weird thing to be getting upset about but friends just don't lie to one another."

Nick swallowed. _Hey Jeff, speaking of liars, I'm actually gay and in love with you? Surprise! Yeah, no, absolutely not._

"I have candy left over from Christmas," Nick offered.

Jeff smiled. "You're the best."

* * *

"If you think I'm going to sing with _him_ you are completely delusional," Blaine hissed at Wes.

"Look, I know what Sebastian's like and I know what he did last year but everyone agrees how great your voices sound together."

Blaine looked unconvinced.

Wes sighed. "The Warblers' reputation is falling with every Regionals loss. We need this. For the team. For the school."

Blaine growled, snatching the music from Wes. "Fine, but I am not happy about this."

"I can live with that," Wes replied with a shrug.

* * *

Nick shifted uncomfortably as he tried desperately to keep focussed on his doowops. Which was proving difficult when Sebastian was taking every opportunity to sing his lines, that he should have been singing to Blaine, to him.

"Dude, I think the new guy has a crush on you," Jeff whispered to him, laughing quietly.

Nick laughed back, uneasily. _You like Jeff, remember? Jeff. Not. Sebastian._

* * *

"Nick," he heard from that smooth voice behind him and turned, with a sigh, to face Sebastian. "And there I was thinking you might be trying to avoid me." Sebastian continued, an eyebrow raised, amused.

Blaine pushed past them, heading down the corridor. "Don't even start, Sebastian, he's straight." He shook his head in disgust and gave Nick an apologetic glance on behalf of the other boy, before disappearing around the corner.

"So he keeps telling me," Sebastian whispered, his eyes boring into him. He moved in closer to Nick, his body pushing him lightly against the wall. "Let's cut the crap. Not only do I know that you are very much gay, I also know that your beard recently dumped you, so you, my friend, are out of aliases." He smirked in satisfaction.

"Look, can you just keep your voice down?" Nick hissed, furious. _I can't let Jeff find out like this, not through Sebastian fucking Smythe_.

"You go to _Dalton_, if you can't come out of the closet here, maybe it's time to lock the door for good."

Nick sighed, closing his eyes in frustration. "I was out before I came but then everyone assumed I was straight and..."

"And you've ended up back in the closet," Sebastian finished, his eyes laughing. "Impressive."

Nick tried to edge past the taller boy, but he pushed him, not so gently, back.

"I'll keep your little secret. But that doesn't mean that we can't have some fun." Sebastian took a step closer to Nick. "No-one has to know," he whispered into his ear, before nipping gently at his earlobe.

Nick's eyes fluttered closed involuntarily as Sebastian trailed his tongue along his jawline, towards his lips. He pressed his lips against Nick's, gently tugging at them with his teeth. Sebastian took the other boy's compliance as encouragement, placing his hands on Nick's hips to pull him flush against him. His tongue darted briefly into Nick's mouth, sliding along his lower lip. He broke off suddenly.

"I'll see you later, babe," Sebastian murmured, striding away down the hall.

Nick opened his eyes, trying desperately to regain control of his breathing and heart rate.

_Shit_, was all Nick thought before his knees gave way and he slid down the wall to the floor.


	6. February

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jeff asked him for the tenth time that night, looking at his roommate with concern in his eyes.

Nick didn't even glance up from the book he wasn't reading. "Once again, Jeff, I'm absolutely fine."

"It's just that," Jeff began, sitting up to look at the other boy intently, "you and Santana seemed pretty close and now that she, well..."

"You can say it, Jeff."

"...well, broke up with you, I figured you would be a little upset or something..." Jeff trailed off awkwardly.

"It was sort of a mutual understanding," Nick explained. _Well, that's basically true._

Jeff didn't look convinced but dropped the subject anyway.

For about five minutes.

"You just seem way too cool about all this!" Jeff said, exasperated.

Nick sighed. "Would it make you feel better if I cried on your shoulder for a while?"

"Yes! That would be normal! The only reason you'd be..." Jeff's eyes widened as a realisation hit him.

Nick looked at him expectantly for whatever ridiculous theory would come next.

"You've met someone else!" Jeff shrieked, clearly immensely proud of himself.

_Crap, _Nick thought, _I'm not going to have to fake date another girl am I? It's a surprisingly expensive hobby._

"Spill," Jeff said triumphantly, convinced from Nick's silence that he was right.

"Look, it's nothing...yet, anyway," Nick started, choosing his words carefully. "But we kissed and well, I don't know." _Again, pretty much true. Except for that bit where Jeff thinks I'm talking about a girl._

"I knew it," Jeff sang happily, turning back to his book with a grin. "Valentine's Day is coming up, you never know what could happen," Jeff said with a wink in Nick's direction.

Nick just shrugged, hoping the blush, that seemed to appear every time he even thought about Sebastian, wasn't noticeable.

"The lacrosse team are delivering Valentine's anonymously throughout the school and city as a fundraiser," Jeff hinted.

"Sebastian's on the lacrosse team," Nick mumbled, without thinking about what he was saying.

"Uh, yeah?" Jeff looked across at his friend curiously. "Anyway, it's $1 for within school, $3 for outside. For an extra $2 you can add candy, $4 for flowers," Jeff recited.

Nick considered this for a moment. "So, how much would it be to send candy _and _flowers?"

"Don't ask me, dude, I lost my Math tutor, remember?" Jeff sighed dramatically.

Nick grinned, truly seeing the Jeff that he'd met on that first day in September again. "It's good to have you back Jeffrey."

"It's good to be back, Nicholas."

* * *

_"You know you want me to," Sebastian whispered into his ear, his hand sliding down the other boy's chest into his pants. His back arched into Sebastian's hand, begging for something, anything. "Oh, Nick..." he breathed with a laugh..._

* * *

Jeff was standing over his roommate, doubled over at the sight of his friend on the floor. "Oh, Nick," he laughed, as the other boy's eyes opened slowly.

"What the hell?" Nick mumbled. His crotch ached uncomfortably and his shoulder felt bruised.

"You fell out of the bed, dude," Jeff said, kicking him gently. "Must have been some dream," he laughed, heading to the bathroom.

Nick growled into his pillow in frustration.

* * *

As Nick walked up to Santana in the Lima Bean, he noted that she wasn't alone. A pretty, blonde girl, wearing the same cheerleading uniform that he'd become so used to, sat with her. They were discreetly holding hands underneath the table. _Brittany._

"You're late," Santana commented as Nick joined them.

Nick mumbled an apology as Brittany took him in with an excited gasp.

"He's a cute elf!" she squealed. "It's super nice of Santa to let you have a vacation for Valentine's Day."

Nick nodded vaguely, fairly sure that she was serious.

"Baby?" Santana pulled her girlfriend's attention back to her, "I'll see you later?"

Brittany nodded, giving both of them a quick hug before she left.

"She seems...sweet," Nick said, as Santana gazed fondly after the blonde girl.

"Anyway, you said you needed to talk? No funny business now," Santana smirked.

Nick took a deep breath and promptly explained to Santana about Sebastian. _I need advice, _he reminded himself as her expression turned sour, _there's no-one else I could have called._

There was a brief silence when Nick finished, as Santana chewed on the remains of her cupid cookie thoughtfully.

"What you feel for Jeff, that's love," Santana started; Nick nodded in agreement. "Sebastian's just lust."

Nick looked at her hopelessly.

"What I'm saying is that maybe it's not such a bad thing for you to...spend some time with this guy. Get it out of your system. Maybe then, you'll be ready to tell Jeff the truth, come what may."

Nick rubbed his temples in exhaustion, thinking back to the dream he'd had the previous night. _The ones I've been having every night since that kiss. But...can I really do that? Should I?_

Santana reached out to hold his hand supportively. "Personally, I think you should just tell Jeff now but...if you're not ready, no-one can force you. This Sebastian guy might be the wake up call that you need."

Nick let his head hit the table with a thump. Santana sighed, patting his head gently.

* * *

Jeff stood at the end of the corridor, staring intently at the lacrosse team's stall.

"Thinking of sending one?" came Blaine's voice from behind him.

"No, I'm just..." Jeff shrugged.

"Of course, you're just going to receive them, you big heartthrob," Blaine grinned, bumping Jeff's shoulder.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."

"You never know," Blaine replied, watching Nick walk hurriedly past the stall.

"That's the fourth time he's done that in the past twenty minutes," Jeff said with a frown.

_Why won't Sebastian leave?_ Nick shrieked internally. _Just take a break or something! _He crumpled the three dollar bills in his hand in frustration.

* * *

February 14th saw a frost across the grounds of Dalton Academy; the wintery sun sparkling down upon it.

Jeff walked in to English, clutching the Valentine, that he'd read a hundred times since it had been delivered to him, in his hand, the candy tucked safely into his bag.

_It's not very creative,_

_And it's nothing new,_

_But you have to know,_

_That I love you._

Jeff took his usually seat, smiling at Blaine. "It was a sweet gesture, thank you."

Blaine looked a him blankly, smiling vaguely. "You're welcome?" he said, confused.

"The Valentine that you sent to me as a friend just so I'd feel special..." Jeff slowed, realising, as he said it aloud, just how ridiculous it sounded.

"Nope, wasn't me," he said with a bewildered laugh. "You've got a secret admirer."

Blaine grinned at him; Jeff bit his lip, frowning. _After our conversation last week, I was sure it was just..._Jeff sighed. He sank deep into thought, weighing up the possibilities.

* * *

Nick stared at the timeline Mrs Jones had drawn on the board charting the Vikings' journey across Europe. His concentration was broken as various members of the lacrosse team filtered into the class, dropping off Valentine's messages, much to Mrs Jones' annoyance. A senior Nick didn't know tapped his shoulder. "You're Nick, right?"

Nick nodded, a single red rose landing on his desk. He picked up the note attached to it, confused.

_Roses are red,_

_Violets are blue,_

_Get ready for tonight babe,_

_Because I'm going to blow you._

Nick looked up at Sebastian sourly. The other boy sat at the opposite side of the room, sucking on his pen obscenely. Nick looked away quickly, his body suddenly feeling uncomfortably hot. He stuffed the note and flower into his bag hastily. _Vikings, I'm thinking about Vikings,_ he told himself sternly, turning his attention back to the board.

* * *

Nick walked into his room, dumping his bag with a sigh. He glanced at the clock; he was supposed to be meeting Sebastian in an hour. _Why did I agree to this? _He groaned inwardly. _Screw Santana's advice, this is a really bad idea. I guess it's too late now, _his other side reasoned, _and maybe Santana's right, maybe it'll...help._

Jeff came out of the bathroom, his face downcast.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked quickly. _Didn't he get my Valentine? I made sure not to do it while Sebastian was around, so he couldn't have intercepted it._

"Someone joking with me," he said with a sigh, holding up Nick's Valentine before throwing it into the bin.

Nick felt like he'd been punched in the chest. _Tell him it was you! Just tell him! _his brain screamed. "But, you don't know that," Nick croaked, unable to take his eyes off the scrunched up note in the bin.

"Yeah, I do, because it's _me._" Jeff stuffed the candy further into the bin.

Each shove went straight into Nick's heart, his eyes stinging from tears that threatened to fall. "Don't do that to yourself," Nick whispered.

Jeff shrugged. "Whatever. I don't want to talk about it anymore. What are we doing tonight?"

"Tonight?"

"Yeah...I thought we were hanging out, you know, being alone together?"

Nick let his head fall into hands. "I'm so sorry, I totally forgot, I actually...I have a date, sort of. But I can totally cancel," he added, as he watched his friend's face fall.

"No, of course not!"

"No, look I'll raincheck until next week or something," Nick babbled, pulling out his phone.

"Don't be an idiot," Jeff said, whacking his hand that had the phone in it. "You are going. But you're showering first because, no offense dude but, you look a mess."

* * *

Nick knocked on Sebastian's door, trying desperately to remember to keep oxygen flowing to his brain. Sebastian opened the door and without saying a word, slipped his tie over Nick's eyes as a blindfold, pulling him inside. _Oh fuck, he's not going to tie me up or something is he?_ Nick panicked. He was completely unprepared for what he actually saw when Sebastian removed the blindfold a few minutes later.

Laid out on the floor was an indoor picnic: strawberries, chocolates, little pastries, wine. The room was dimly lit by candles.

"Sit," Sebastian said softly, pulling him down.

"Wow," was all Nick could say at first." This is really...romantic."

"You sound surprised," Sebastian said, amused.

"Considering the Valentine you sent me, yeah."

"Hey," Sebastian replied, clearly offended, "there was a rose, wasn't there?" He grinned, picking up a strawberry and feeding it to Nick, his eyes sparkling in the candlelight.

* * *

Jeff looked up, confused, as he heard a knock at the door. He opened it to see Thad, a rose placed comically between his teeth. Jeff laughed as Thad handed him the rose, wincing as a thorn scratched his lip. Jeff glanced back at the trash can. _What if it was Thad?_

"That's because I forgot to send a proper Valentine," Thad explained, grinning.

_Well, there goes that theory._

"Want to be alone together?" Thad asked, extending a hand to the blond boy.

* * *

Nick lay next to Sebastian on his floor, their noses brushing lightly, the picnic abandoned. Sebastian leaned forward, his lips capturing Nick's in a soft kiss. He slid his tongue into Nick's mouth, deepening the kiss, rolling Nick to his back so that he was straddling the smaller boy. He rolled his hips against Nick's, feeling him push up into him in response.

"Sebastian, I don't know..." Nick started, breathlessly.

"You know you want me to," Sebastian breathed into his ear.

Nick could feel himself hardening as his dream came back to him.

"See?" Sebastian murmured, grinding gently but insistently against Nick.

Sebastian trailed his tongue down Nick's neck, unbuttoning his shirt as he went. He sucked at the base of his neck, his fingers slowly circling the other boy's nipples, feeling them turn hard. His tongue continued its journey down Nick's chest painfully slowly; Nick's hips were bucking desperately against Sebastian, craving some friction.

Sebastian quickly pulled off his own shirt, moving his mouth back to Nick's. They both relished the feeling of their bare chests sliding against one another. Nick's head was already spinning as Sebastian's hands moved to slide off his pants. The taller boy sat up, his hips pushing rhythmically into Nick's, as he looked down with smug satisfaction at the boy panting below him.

"Tell me how much you want it," Sebastian whispered darkly into Nick's ear, sliding down his body.

Nick's response turned into a series of unintelligible moans as the other boy began mouthing at Nick's cock through his boxers.

"Tell me," Sebastian commanded, licking tantalisingly at the skin at the edge of his boxers.

"Please," Nick begged, which satisfied Sebastian enough for him to pull his boxers off.

Nick groaned in relief, feeling Sebastian's cool hands coming to rest on his hips firmly.

"Tell me," he repeated.

Nick could feel his breath on his cock. "More than anything, Sebastian, please," he choked out.

Sebastian grinned, sliding his tongue down Nick's cock slowly before snapping back up again, sucking on the tip intently. They both knew that Nick wouldn't last long. Sebastian took his whole length in his mouth, hollowing his cheeks and feeling it hit the back of his throat. He started moving faster, sucking hard. Nick's hips bucked up to meet Sebastian's mouth, despite the hands pushing him down. Nick's head tipped back into the carpet, his eyes fluttering shut as he came in Sebastian's mouth, with a growl. Sebastian swallowed around him, the sensation sending aftershocks through Nick's oversensitive body.

Sebastian pulled off him and crawled up to lie back by Nick's side, trailing his fingers in circles over the dark-haired boy's chest. "Happy Valentine's Day babe."

* * *

Nick hit the punchbag repeatedly, his arm muscles clenching uncomfortably.

"Woah, what did the punchbag ever do to you?" Blaine joked, walking into the gym.

Nick didn't reply, keeping up his rhythm. _Don't push me, Anderson_. He was pissed off. Pissed off at Sebastian for seducing him with a few strawberries and some candles. Pissed off at himself for letting it happen. Pissed off that he'd felt absolutely nothing.

"Jesus, Nick, take it easy," Blaine yelled, grabbing Nick's arms in concern.

"Get your hands off me," he shouted, pushing Blaine away violently.

Blaine held up his hands in surrender, moving away from him.

"Just breathe," Blaine said calmly. "Is this about Sebastian?"

Nick paused. "What about Sebastian?" he spat.

"Look, I know, okay?" Blaine replied, quietly. "Don't worry, he won't tell anyone else and I won't either."

Nick shook his head in frustration, sinking to his knees. Blaine knelt down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Just be careful with Sebastian, okay?"

"Like you're one to give relationship advice," Nick scoffed.

"I screwed up with Jeff, okay? I know you've never forgiven me for that, even if he has."

"You don't deserve his forgiveness."

There was a pause as Blaine studied Nick. "You sent him the Valentine, didn't you? You like him," he said finally, so softly that Nick barely heard him.

"It's got nothing to do with you," Nick replied, eyes fixed to the floor.

Blaine stood up with a sigh, patting him on the shoulder gently and headed towards the door. He paused, turning to call back to Nick. "I'm serious about Sebastian though; he's so much more dangerous and vindictive than you realise yet."

Nick stared after Blaine as he left the gym, trying to make sense of what he'd said. He shook his head in desperation, his body curling up as broke down into tears.


	7. March

The two boys stood at opposite ends of the room as they knotted their ties. Eventually, Jeff broke the silence that had been hanging over the friends in the last few weeks. "It seems like we've barely spent any time together in, well, weeks." He shrugged, smiling sadly.

Nick sighed, pulling apart his mess of a tie for the hundredth time. _Why won't my hands cooperate today? _"I'm sorry, just with Warblers practice and finals coming up in a couple of months..." he trailed off, feebly.

"There's something bothering you though," Jeff stated simply; Nick couldn't look him in the eye. "I'm here if or when you want to talk."

Nick shook his head in disbelief. "I've been acting like a dick and you're still...Jeff."

Jeff laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment." He watched as his roommate failed with his tie yet again.

"Here, let me help." He walked over and began tying it for him, his fingers accidentally brushing across Nick's chest with each loop.

"Thank you," Nick mumbled, letting his hands fall to his sides.

Jeff simply smiled, as he finished the knot. He placed a hand on Nick's chest when he was done, admiring his handiwork.

Jeff didn't move his hand. Nick stared down at it, placed, as it was, just over his heart. _What if I just leaned over and kissed you, right here, right now?_

Jeff moved away abruptly, as if he'd read Nick's mind. "We should get going; the bus is probably already outside."

Nick nodded, following Jeff out of the room wordlessly.

* * *

"I still can't believe that Wes gave _my_ solo to that," Sebastian said sourly, gesturing to Kurt.

"Get over it, Sebastian," Nick replied with a roll of his eyes.

"That's easy for you to say, you're perfectly used to bobbing around in the background."

Nick saw Wes gathering the team together and dragged Sebastian over, muttering under his breath grumpily.

"Okay gentlemen, this is it. I have a really good feeling about today; I think we've got this," Wes said as he faced the group.

"Well, we would if I was doing the solo," Sebastian said under his breath, causing Nick to elbow him sharply in the ribs. He snarled but kept his mouth shut.

"Oh yeah on three!" Blaine yelled, as the Warblers came together in a show circle.

* * *

Kurt was crying quietly in the corner; Blaine at his side, whispering into his ear. Wes was pacing, point blank refusing to talk to anyone. Sebastian leaned against the wall, examining his nails absentmindedly, murmuring "I told you so" to anyone that would listen. The rest of the team shuffled from foot to foot aimlessly, wondering what they were supposed to do.

"Hey you." Santana appeared behind Nick.

"Hey! Congratulations, you guys were incredible," Nick said to his friend, sincerely.

"Thank you! We sure beat your asses," Santana grinned. "But, really, I'm sorry, you guys were still great."

Nick shrugged. _I really don't care that much about losing a stupid show choir competition right now. _

"So, how are things? Santana asked quietly.

"Honestly?" Nick laughed bitterly. "Things are a mess." His head fell onto Santana's shoulder, who sighed, muttering something in Spanish to herself.

"Things will work out. The good times are coming, I promise," she whispered into his ear.

* * *

David had been the one to insist that their party didn't go to waste. "We'll turn it into a loser party! It'll be great!" he persisted.

A few Warblers excused themselves, not in the mood to hang around and mope anymore. Kurt and Blaine, too, were absent. Despite the rest of the team's assurance, they still felt that their loss had been because of them.

The party soon livened up as enough people got sufficiently drunk to forget their worries and focus on dance-offs instead. Sebastian sat next to Nick; he'd been talking - _complaining _- for the last forty minutes. Not that Nick had been listening to a word. He couldn't take his eyes off Jeff, who sat across the room, snorting with laughter at something Thad was telling him.

"Are you going to be like this all night?" Sebastian snapped.

"Like what?" Nick asked, tearing his eyes off Jeff.

"Well, that's your fourth drink and you are just getting progressively more dull." Sebastian leaned into Nick's ear. "Why don't we just get out of here and have some real fun?"

Nick pushed him off. "I'm not interested, Sebastian."

Sebastian followed where Nick's gaze had fallen back to Jeff. "Seriously? You like _him_?" Sebastian sneered.

"Right, that's my cue," Nick said, standing up to leave.

"I don't think so," Sebastian laughed, pulling him back down next to him. "Or would you to like me to go tell Jeff all about how you lied to him, all about our night together, all about-"

"What do you want?" Nick cut him off angrily.

"You," Sebastian replied simply.

* * *

Thad examined the various bottles on the table, trying to remember what Jeff had been drinking.

"Why don't you give him this? It might loosen him up a bit." Sebastian handed Thad a cup, a small grin on his face.

"What's in this?" he asked doubtfully.

Sebastian shrugged. "Nothing special. Trust me," he whispered as he brushed past him.

Thad shrugged, taking the drink to Jeff. The other boy thanked him. Ten minutes later, the cup was empty.

* * *

"Sebastian, I'm not doing this again," Nick yelled, pushing the taller boy off him as he tried to pull him into his room.

"Christ, Nick, will you just lie with me? For one night? Please?" His voice was soft, tired.

Nick shrugged and nodded, his head spinning too wildly for him to protest any longer.

The two boys fell asleep that way, Sebastian's taller body curled around Nick's frame, their fingers laced together. Across the school, Thad and Jeff lay similarly. That is, now that Thad had finally managed to get Jeff to stop giggling over the phrase 'kangaroo court'.

* * *

Jeff woke up first next morning. His jaw felt like it had been glued shut, his tongue like sandpaper in his mouth. When he finally got his eyes open, the entire world appeared at a forty-five degree tilt. _I'm pretty sure I'm about to throw up. The question is, am I going to make it to the bathroom?_ He decided to take his chances, leaping from the bed and making it to the toilet just as the first wave of nausea hit him.

Thad woke up to the sound of Jeff retching. He staggered to the bathroom; he felt bad, but he was pretty sure Jeff felt worse. He found his friend hugging the toilet bowl, his body convulsing.

"Jeff?" Thad asked in concern, kneeling next to him. Jeff just shook his head, incapable of speaking. His entire body was shaking violently; his skin felt ice cold. _Jesus_, _he didn't drink that much. I was with him all night,_ Thad thought, already beginning to panic.

It was when Thad saw blood trickling from the side of the Jeff's mouth that he decided to call Nick.

Nick groaned as his phone vibrated aggressively under his pillow. He answered without checking the display, his brain foggy as he tried to take in what Thad was shrieking. Nick hauled himself out of bed, pushing the arm of a still sleeping Sebastian off him and throwing the rest of his clothes on hastily.

"Jesus, Jeff," Nick said in horror at the sight of his friend.

Jeff had finally stopped vomiting and was now lying curled up on the floor of Thad's bathroom. His skin was even paler than usual, he was still shaking and he wouldn't (or couldn't) talk. Thad, meanwhile, was in hysterics, sobbing something about how it was all his fault and how he was useless. _I'll deal with that later, _Nick thought grimly as he lifted his comatose friend from the floor and carried him to the nurse's office.

"It's going to be okay, Jeff. I've got you. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise," Nick whispered. If Jeff could even hear him.

* * *

Nick let out a sigh of relief as he looked down at Jeff, now sleeping peacefully in his own bed. He had to wake him up every two hours to make sure that he still knew who he was and to make him take the tablets that the nurse had given him. Nick turned to Thad, who'd calmed down and was now just kneeling on the floor next to Jeff's bed, chewing on this thumb nervously.

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Nick asked quietly.

Thad didn't look at him, his voice low. "Someone gave me a drink. To give to Jeff. I should have...I should have left it or made him tell me what was in it. Not just let it happen."

"Who gave it to you?" Nick's voice was flat, toneless. _Like I need to ask._

"Sebastian." Thad's voice was quiet, guilty. "I'm so sorry."

Nick took a deep breath to steady himself. "It's not me you need to apologise to. But, it's not your fault, Thad. Not when Sebastian's involved. Will you stay with Jeff? I have something I need to do."

Thad nodded, burying his face into Jeff's duvet. Nick squeezed his shoulder before he left.

* * *

"Nick, I just heard, is he okay? Can I see him?" Blaine said breathlessly as he found the boy he'd been looking for in the corridor.

"Yeah, he's okay, I think," Nick sighed, rubbing his hands over his face in exhaustion. "He's asleep, Thad's with him. But, you can go see him, of course."

Blaine nodded. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I...no. No, not really. Look, I'm sorry Blaine. I should have listened to you about Sebastian and-"

Blaine cut him off. "No, don't apologise. I didn't listen when people tried to tell me. Just, go, do what you need to do."

Blaine gave him a quick, supportive hug. Nick hadn't realised it, but it was exactly what he'd needed. _Even if it did come from Blaine._

* * *

Nick didn't bother knocking, storming straight in the room. Sebastian stepped out of the bathroom, dressed, though his hair was still damp from the shower.

"Hey babe, you ran out on me this morning." Sebastian tutted jokingly.

"Let's cut the crap, Sebastian." Nick shoved him violently into the wall. "I don't know what the fuck you put in Jeff's drink, I don't want to know. What I do know is that when I got to my best friend this morning, I thought he might be dead. Whatever this fucked up thing between us was; it's over. I don't want you near me. I don't want you near Jeff. I don't want you near anyone that I care about. Is that clear?"

Sebastian grinned, laughing lightly. "You're hot when you're angry, babe."

Nick shook his head in disgust, pulling his arm back and punching Sebastian in the face.

* * *

"Sebastian," Wes said as he stood in front of the boy, flanked by Thad and David, the rest of the Warblers to his side. "We've discussed it and come to the decision that you're not welcome here anymore. This isn't the first time that something like this has happened and we've been far too complacent. It's up to you whether you continue at Dalton but the Warblers are no longer open to you."

Nick watched with grim satisfaction as the boy stood up and left the room without a word. The bruise on his jaw was turning an ugly shade of purple.

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Jeff."

"You keep saying that and I keep reminding you that this was not your fault."

Nick shook his head sadly, his hand enclosed in Jeff's.

"I'm going to sleep, okay?" He smiled down at his friend. "See you in two hours."

Nick remained at the edge of his bed until he was sure Jeff was asleep. He gently leaned up and placed a featherlight kiss on the other boy's lips. He pressed another into his palm, folding his hand around it.

"Save that one for later," Nick whispered, before leaving the room.

"Blaine," he called, catching up to the older boy. "I need your help."


	8. April

"I've got it!" Kurt squealed; Nick and Blaine turning to look at him hopefully. "I Will Always Love You."

"Yes!" Blaine agreed, enthusiastically.

"No," Nick groaned.

"And why not?" Kurt glared across the room. Well, they had been at this for hours.

"Because last time I checked, the only person in this room who can hit those notes is you."

The other boys nodded in agreement, sighing.

"Wait, I've got an idea!" Blaine sang, grabbing his laptop. "I'm going to make a playlist of all the songs I have with love in the title and then we'll go through them." He looked immensely proud of himself.

Nick flopped backwards onto the bed he was a sitting on with a whimper. _This is hopeless._

"Too cheesy."

Blaine hit next.

"Not cheesy enough."

Blaine hit next.

"Dude, are you kidding? _No_."

Blaine hit next.

This continued for a while, the boys progressively becoming more and more frustrated.

"Wait, stop!" Nick yelled as the music filled the room. He looked at the other boys, who grinned back at him. _Yes. This is the one._

"I'll call an emergency Warblers meeting!' Blaine yelled giddily, heading towards the door.

"Minus Jeff!" Kurt and Nick chorused behind him.

"Minus Jeff," Blaine repeated, as he walked out.

"It would be just like Blaine to screw this all up now that we've finally got a song," Kurt commented, a dopey smile on his face.

* * *

It was late by the time Nick got back to his room. "What the hell are you doing here?" he growled as he opened the door.

Sebastian stood up, straightening his blazer.

"Thank you for your time, Jeff," he said, completely ignoring Nick.

Jeff nodded, busily examining a loose thread on his bed cover.

Sebastian finally turned to face Nick, who was blocking the door, his hands clenched at his sides. "Are you planning to hit me again?"

"Well, apparently the message didn't get through to you last time."

Sebastian sighed. "I was here to apologise to Jeff. Anyway, I was just leaving. Can I speak to you in private, please? I won't keep you long."

Nick opened the door, following Sebastian back out into the hall.

"I want to apologise to you, too. I really do care about you, Nick. But, as usual, I let things get out of hand."

Nick snorted, his arms folded, in a volatile manner, across his chest. _That's kind of an understatement. _

"I hope everything works out for you, Nick, truly. You and Jeff would make a wonderful couple." Sebastian put out his hand in a conciliatory gesture; Nick shook it warily. Sebastian nodded, turning to leave.

"Goodbye Sebastian."

He paused but didn't turn back around. "Goodbye Nick."

Jeff looked up as Nick walked back into the room. He could feel the blush in his cheeks. _Forget it, Jeff. Nick didn't kiss you. It was a stupid fever dream because of what the nurse had you on. He's straight, remember?_

"What did he want?" Jeff asked, clearing the thoughts from his head.

"Same as with you, to apologise." Nick shrugged. "You didn't have to forgive him."

"I just want this all to be over," Jeff said quietly.

Nick walked over, pulling Jeff into a hug. "You're coming to Warblers practice tomorrow, night?"

Jeff looked confused. "Why are we having practice? We _lost_."

"Wes wants us to get started for next year, obviously," Nick lied smoothly. _Well, it sure sounds like something Wes would do_.

Jeff laughed, shaking his head. "I'll be there; I'm so ready to get out of this room for something other than classes."

* * *

Nick sat next to Jeff on the familiar couch. His stomach was in complete knots and he wasn't taking in anything that Wes was talking about.

"Anyway, for now, Nick has the floor."

Nick took a deep breath, the rest of the Warblers (minus Jeff) standing as he did.

"Woah, what did I miss?" Jeff asked, as he realised that he was the only one left sitting.

"Nothing," Nick replied, smiling at his friend. "This is for you."

The boys around him began to sing, setting the beat. Nick fixed his gaze onto Jeff, a smile spreading across his face and joined in. "L is for the way you look at me..."

* * *

Jeff sat stunned, as the song came to a finish. Without a word, he ran out of the room. Nick stood, gaping after where the boy had gone.

"For crying out loud, _go after him!_" Blaine yelled, shoving Nick, none too gently, in the direction of the door.

"Jeff, wait, stop, please!" Nick yelled, desperately, sliding down the polished corridor to try to reach him.

"I don't understand, Nick! Help me understand." There were tears streaming down his cheeks, each one tearing into Nick.

"I'm so sorry, Jeff," Nick began, reaching to wipe the tears from Jeff's cheeks. "I lied to you and that's not okay. But I'm so tired of pretending. I'm so tried of trying not to show what I feel for you." Nick couldn't think of what else to say. Jeff's hands came to rest on Nick's, that were still gently caressing Jeff's cheeks.

"You're not going to wait to kiss me until I'm asleep, again, are you?" Jeff whispered, grinning.

Nick leaned forward, pressing his lips to Jeff's; the blond boy reaching to pull Nick closer to him. _I could do this forever_, the two boys thought. They might have, too, if it weren't for the series of whoops and catcalls that came from the Warblers at the other end of the hall, who had been watching the entire scene play out.

Jeff broke the kiss with a giggle, glancing back at his teammates.

"I love you, Jeff," Nick murmured, pulling his gaze back to him.

"I think I love you too."

Nick shrugged. "That's good enough for me," he grinned, pulling Jeff back in for another kiss, throwing an obscene hand gesture back to his friends who continued to whistle and holler behind them.

* * *

As Jeff disappeared into the bathroom to nervously fix his hair (_again_, Nick thought with a smile) Nick reached under his bed to pull out the slightly crumpled bouquet of flowers and box of candy. Jeff walked out. "Okay, I guess I'm ready when you are but-" Jeff was cut off by the sight of his boyfriend, holding out the gifts, a small grin on his face.

"I'd appreciate it if you don't throw these ones into the bin," Nick said, holding up the candy.

Jeff ran across to him, throwing his arms around him and kissing him with a giggle. Nick pulled him against his own body, returning the kiss.

"Look, am I taking you out to dinner or not?" Nick asked with a laugh, in between Jeff's enthusiastic kisses.

* * *

"You are not paying every time," Jeff insisted as they walked down the quiet street, hand in hand.

"You mean there's going to be a second date? Yes!" Nick punched the air in triumph, much to Jeff's amusement.

"Dance with me?"

"Here?"

Jeff shrugged. "There's no-one around," he pointed out, with a small smile.

Nick pulled Jeff into his arms, their bodies fitting perfectly next to one another. Jeff begun to sing quietly, his head coming to rest on Nick's shoulder.

"For all those times you stood by me..."

Santana turned down the road, exhausted after another late night Cheerios practice for Nationals. She saw a couple dancing in a close embrace on the corner; it didn't take long for her to recognise the dark and light haired heads together. She smiled to herself as she drove past through the dark night.


	9. May

Jeff let his hands be pinned down at his sides as Nick continued his trail of kisses down Jeff's neck. Nick's attention soon returned to Jeff's mouth; he sucked on his lower lip hungrily, rolling his hips down to meet Jeff's. Both of the boys' ties and blazers lay abandoned on their floor; their shirts slowly becoming further and further unbuttoned.

"Ngh, Nick," Jeff tried desperately between kisses. He was trying to get Nick to stop and listen to him. _Well, sort of trying_. "Nick," he moaned again, "we're supposed to be studying for our French final tomorrow."

"We're _French_ kissing, doesn't that count?" Nick grinned down at his boyfriend who was shaking his head disapprovingly. "Je préfére continuer à t'embrasser," he whispered.

"_Préférerais_, you need to use the conditional," Jeff corrected him.

"I don't care," he mumbled, sucking on Jeff's neck happily.

Jeff sighed. "You're going to leave a mark again."

"Oui," Nick replied, returning to the task at hand.

"You're impossible," Jeff muttered, unable to stop himself from smiling at the other boy.

* * *

"We're free!" Blaine cried with a whoop, careering across Dalton's vast lawn.

Nick ran after him, lying down on the top of the hill that led down to the lake. "Hey, Anderson, race you to the bottom!"

Blaine's eyes lit up as he caught on to what the other boy was planning. "I accept that challenge."

As the two boys went tumbling down the slope, Kurt and Jeff followed behind calmly. Kurt was swinging a picnic basket on his arm; Jeff had a rug thrown over his shoulder.

"We have terrible taste in men," Kurt commented, grinning as they watched their boyfriends pick themselves up at the other end, covered, head to toe, in grass. Jeff nodded in agreement, catching Kurt's eye and giggling.

"Yeah, whatever, I still won."

"Sure, by an inch."

Nick rolled his eyes, pulling Jeff towards him. "Hey, your boyfriend's a champion."

Blaine looked sulkily. "You're still a champion in my eyes," Kurt comforted him, patting his head affectionately.

"I still won," Nick whispered to Jeff, who shut him up with a kiss.

"I love you," Jeff murmured with a grin, one hand brushing through Nick's dark hair.

"I love you too," Nick grinned back, dipping Jeff to kiss him, who shrieked in response before returning the kiss.

It didn't take long for their small picnic to turn into a full Warblers gathering, the group spreading out as far as the eye could see across the grounds.

"We're like The Three Musketeers," Nick announced, with a wink at Jeff. "Except that there's heaps of us."

"You read it?" Jeff looked thrilled.

"Well, I watched the movie..." Nick grinned sheepishly.

"I'm very proud of you all the same," Jeff beamed, snuggling into his side.

It took exactly five glasses of Trent's "extra special" punch before Jon admitted that he didn't have a long distance girlfriend in Texas.

"I'm sorry guys," he said quietly, staring at the ground in shame.

"I think we forgive you, Jon," David reassured him on behalf of the group. Everyone nodded in agreement, patting him on the back gently, smiling among themselves.

"You owe me twenty dollars then," Trent whispered to Wes, who cursed, digging into his pocket.

* * *

At some point, Blaine's older brother, the infamous Cooper, appeared, boasting about having managed to persuade their parents to go away for a weekend and preparing to drag the half drunk Warblers back to the Anderson house to continue the party.

"He needs to get his own friends," Blaine grumbled watching as all of his teammates followed after Coop merrily. "You guys coming?" he asked Nick and Jeff, who had been quietly sitting next to the lake, curled up together, for the past hour.

The boys looked at each other, a mutual agreement in their eyes. "No, not tonight," Nick answered on their behalf.

"Come tomorrow then, it's an all weekend party!" Cooper, who had been listening in, yelled to them.

Blaine sighed in exasperation. "You better be planning on helping me tidy this up afterwards!" he shouted at his brother as he ran up the hill to catch up with the group.

"Can we go back to our room?" Jeff whispered to Nick, lacing their fingers together. Nick nodded, smiling as he pulled his boyfriend up.

* * *

Nick and Jeff just made it through the door of their room before they pulled their bodies flush against one another. _Just_.

Nick pushed Jeff down onto his bed, his mouth never leaving the other boy's. There was a frantic sense of need, want, longing between them. Shirts were gone in minutes; Nick pulled back to take in the beauty of the blond beneath him, trailing his fingers gently down Jeff's sides. At some point Jeff got tired of being looked at like a piece of art, pulling Nick back down to him and rolling his hips up, just to get the point across.

Nick took the hint, mumbling an apology as he returned his mouth to Jeff's, his hands moving to cup his ass through his tight pants and pull the boy closer to him. Jeff lay back, his breath stuttering as Nick begun to trail kisses down his chest, his hands massaging over Jeff's thighs. He paused as he reached the waistband of Jeff's pants, looking up for encouragement. Jeff moaned, nodding, helpfully lifting his legs to let Nick slide off his pants and boxers in one go. Nick slid his tongue experimentally up Jeff's cock, feeling immensely satisfied as the other boy keened below him.

"Hey, no fair," Jeff breathed out, his foot nudging where Nick's lower half was still very much clothed.

"Touché," Nick agreed, jumping up to pull them off and throw them somewhere, anywhere.

Jeff whimpered at the loss of his body next to his, pulling Nick's mouth back to his urgently. Their bare bodies slid together fluidly; both boys moaning at the new sensation of their cocks brushing against each other.

"Nick, please, I need you..." he trailed off.

Nick's heart was pounding in his chest. "Are you sure?"

Jeff just nodded, leaning up to kiss Nick softly. They lay that way for a few minutes, foreheads and bodies pressed together, remembering the moment.

"I'll get the, uh, stuff," Nick said nervously, jumping up from bed and running to the bathroom.

Jeff laughed to himself as he heard various things being knocked over in the boy's haste and Nick cursing as something landed heavily onto his toe. He hobbled back into the room and Jeff sighed. "Baby, only you would get injured in the five minutes you were in there."

Nick grinned hopelessly, kneeling at the end of the bed.

Nick kissed slowly up Jeff's leg, lifting it around him so he could sit between his legs. He was shaking - from nerves, from excitement - as he spread some of the lube over his fingers, gently parting Jeff's legs further. Jeff nodded at him encouragingly, as Nick pushed one finger in. He paused; he could tell from the way Jeff was biting his lip that he needed a minute.

"Relax, baby," he whispered, kissing his thigh softly.

Nick felt the other boy's body slowly loosening up and he gently pushed another finger in. Jeff bucked his hips up with a moan.

"Good?" Nick asked, grinning.

Jeff just moaned in response, tipping his head back as Nick added a third finger.

"Nick, I'm ready, would you just..." Jeff groaned, gazing down at his boyfriend through hazy eyes.

Nick nodded, taking a deep breath to steady himself. He pulled his fingers out, quickly pulling on the condom and slathering lube over himself as Jeff whined at the loss inside of him.

Nick sucked gently on the end of Jeff's throbbing cock before pulling himself up, to line up his cock with Jeff's entrance. He laced his fingers through Jeff's, placing a quick, chaste kiss to his lips. He pushed in slowly, feeling Jeff adjust to the sensation. Nick's eyes fluttered shut as he filled Jeff.

"You feel incredible," he murmured, before pulling out and sliding back in again, slamming hard against Jeff's hips.

Jeff was overwhelmed; Nick was everywhere around him, surrounding him, filling him. He groaned beneath the other boy, wrapping his legs around Nick's back to pull him closer. Nick started to pick up the pace, pushing deeper and deeper. Jeff cried out as Nick started hitting his prostate, the waves of pleasure hitting him again and again. They were both close, sharing their breaths in the small space between them. Nick reached to stroke Jeff's cock firmly, sliding his hand in time with his thrusts.

"Just let go, I've got you," Nick whispered, as Jeff came over his hand, groaning out his name repeatedly. Nick followed shortly after, stars appearing before his eyes, before he slid out of Jeff and flopped in a post-orgasm haze next to his boyfriend.

A kind of peace settled over the room as the boys lay side by side, nose to nose, heart to heart. They didn't speak; they didn't need to. Nick and Jeff were exactly where they needed to be: in each other's arms.


End file.
